I’ll be honest, I didn’t get a chance to see the first weekend of the European Championship like I had hoped – but I did catch enough to have a few observations. And before I get into it – I want to take a moment to thank ESPN for adding the tournament to their vast arsenal of TV networks.
It’s another sign that the sport is growing here in the U.S. and there is a market to watch top quality football. Having said that, here are a few observations.
- Julie Foudy was a great player for the U.S. women’s national team. She’s probably forgotten more about playing the game than I have even come close to learning. She knows the American game well and has worked tirelessly to help develop the game. And her charity and activism work transcends all of this as she’s a huge advocate of women’s and children’s rights. But she seemed lost today between Andy Gray and Tommy Smyth. I’ll give her a few more studio shows, but I felt her analysis was lacking while the other two argued over Germany’s choice of striker.
- My only other complaint of the ESPN coverage was the graphic showing Jens Lehmann as being Arsenal’s keeper. I know these things were created well in advance of this month – but they should have someone with a pulse on the transfer market to update when needed. He’s at Stuttgart now.
On the pitch, I was shocked at the lack of upsets on the first two days.
- I thought Switzerland would be pushed by the home crowd but they seemed to have troubles getting going. Their tournament was then effectively ended when Alexander Frei was taken off with a tournament-ending injury.
- Portugal could win this thing. Not only do they have the best player in the world, they also have guys that can step up and score when Cristiano Ronaldo can’t. They woke up at halftime and looked like a group winning in the final 45 minutes.
- The first side to be robbed by a questionable call may have been Austria. The host country looked better than anyone could have imagined against Croatia. Despite falling behind because of a penalty in the first five minutes, the Austrians fought back but couldn’t get a deserved award for how they played.
- While Croatia got the win, I think fans need to wonder just how much they are going to miss Eduardo. The Arsenal striker is a catalyst to their attack and you have to wonder if the lack of punch in this one can be attributed to their missing star.
- Lukas Podolski is a star on the international stage.
- And maybe, just maybe, Jens Lehmann does have his head screwed on straight for this tournament and my concerns about his play for Germany could be wrong.
What thoughts do you have from the first weekend of action?